Heritage Ironwork Training

A call for specialist training and accreditation

Chris Topp

Above: a set of Grade II* listed gates poorly restored in 2001 and, below, after faithful restoration in 2009

There is a wealth of historic ironwork
in the UK. Many examples exhibit such
a mastery of design and craftsmanship
that they are recognised as works of national
importance. It is all the more remarkable
then, that when historic ironwork needs to be
repaired or conserved, there is no mechanism
to ensure that the people who carry out the
work are, as with other work to historic fabric,
suitably qualified.

Most working smiths have been offered
restoration work on historic ironwork at
some time, and many have seen what damage
unskilled hands can do. In 1980, elements
of Chatsworth’s Golden Gates needed to be
restored. The gates were then nearly 300 years
old and extremely precious, yet it was found
that every joint had been electric welded in
recent years. As a result, the vast majority of
the restoration work required was dedicated
to putting this right rather than repairing the
weathering of three centuries.

The illustrations to the left demonstrate
a more recent case in which a set of Grade II*
listed gates that had been badly restored in
2001 had to be restored again, faithfully,
in 2009. The use of electric welding and the
lack of care in the shaping of components is
clearly apparent and the poorly formed leaves
had rusted through.

The cause of this situation is two-fold.
Firstly, skill-shortages are particularly
acute in this field. Although there are many
blacksmiths, few have the skills required to
conserve and restore historic wrought iron,
which is in part the result of the shortage of
suitable courses and training opportunities.
Secondly, it is a question of demand: too few
specifiers and owners of historic ironwork
have sufficient understanding of what
constitutes an appropriate method of repair,
and there is currently no accreditation system
in place to circumvent this.

Contracts for restoration work are
generally awarded to the lowest bidder. In the
absence of any restriction concerning those
who tender for the work, and as high quality
work is inevitably dearer in the short term
than poor work, smiths who have taken the
trouble to achieve a high standard may find
themselves at a commercial disadvantage. As
a result, at a national level, we are missing
the chance to acquire a group of skilled and
dedicated individuals who can be entrusted
with the future maintenance of our great but
sadly neglected heritage of wrought ironwork.

There is a pressing need to guarantee that
a practitioner is a master of the craft before
being recruited to work on listed ironwork.
In other conservation disciplines people are
expected to prove themselves by achieving some form of accreditation. The field of
heritage ironwork deserves no less.

To work within the discipline of
conservation, smiths should know something
about the materials used to create the objects
under consideration, in this case wrought
iron. They should be able to identify the
different irons and be familiar with the
materials in terms of manufacture and
properties, and have a good understanding
of the techniques used to create the piece.
They should possess sufficient practical skill
to be able to reproduce missing components
using the original materials and techniques,
as well as mastery of any new materials and
techniques which may be called for. Ideally,
they should be able to assess the object in
terms of the history of the craft, perhaps even
to identify in the piece the work of any of the
more prominent historical smiths.

A system of accreditation is required
which should be based on the achievement
of a pre-determined set of standards, or
the passing of certain tests to demonstrate
knowledge and ability such as the production
of a satisfactory test piece.

The question remains as to which
institution would act as the awarding body
for the qualification, but perhaps, as there
will be a need for dedicated training courses
in the field, an obvious candidate would be
one of the existing training providers. The
resulting qualification must be respected by
the clients, of course, whose incentive will be a raising of standards across the industry and
the provision of work which will last longer
and be better value for money in the long
term.

At present, there are various courses
available to blacksmiths, and while some
of the courses deal with aspects of heritage
work, none at present is dedicated to it.

There is a need for advanced courses
that build on the basic training and which
specialise in heritage ironwork. Equally, the
specifiers of the work must be better informed
in order to specify the appropriate techniques
and materials, and to put their weight behind
our efforts to procure better value in terms
of quality and long term cost savings. To this
end we wish to secure training for owners and
specifiers, provided as CPD.

Bodies such as the National Heritage
Training Group have been entrusted with
filling the huge skills gap within the heritage
building trades. Such bodies have funds
at their disposal to establish craft training
where it is needed. A new body, the National
Heritage Ironwork Group (NHIG) has been
established by Chris Topp and Company
and set the task of securing such funding
to provide the skills base. However, no such
initiative can survive without the support
of the employer, the owner of the historic
piece, and we recognise the need to secure
the endorsement of the national heritage
establishment. To this end the NHIG has
published a set of preferred standards,
a suggested curriculum for an advanced
training course and is vigorously promoting
the debate within the heritage industry.

NHIG would be happy to receive
constructive comments from interested
parties and can be contacted through the author at the following e-mail
address: christopp@christopp.co.uk.

SKILLS REQUIREMENTS NATIONALLY

A brief summary
from the Heritage
Lottery Fund

The demand for training places for
HLF’s Training Bursary Programme
has outstripped the opportunities
available by as much as 60 to one.

National Heritage Training
Group research estimates that
over 10,000 additional skilled
craftspeople are needed to meet
current shortages in the built
heritage sector across the UK.

Traditional heritage skills used to
be passed down from generation
to generation but are now
becoming something of a rarity.
those who want to learn skills
such as thatching, lime plastering
and stone masonry struggle
to secure funding for practical
apprenticeships and mentoring
from experienced practitioners.

The heritage building industry,
based on repairs and maintenance,
is reported by ConstructionSkills to
be holding up well in the face of the
recession. There are approximately 6
million pre-1919 buildings in the UK.

Mainstream building contractors
are moving into the repairs and
maintenance market but there
is a risk to the heritage if they
are not properly trained.

Learning on-the-job with mentoring
from experienced practitioners is one
of the best ways for individuals to
develop heritage skills but there are
few funding opportunities for people
seeking qualifications above Level 2.